Lasted welt-shoe and method of lasting it.



C. C. BLAKE.

LASTED WELT SHOE AND METHOD OF LASTING IT. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-8. 1911.

1,261,741 Patented Apr. 2,19 1&

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- C. C- BLAKE.

LASTED WELT SHOE AND METHOD OF LASTING lT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-8.1911.

3 SHE Patented 2, 1918.

8- HEET 2- C. C. BLAKE.

LASTED WELT SHOE AND METHOD OF LASTING lT. APPUCATION FILED sums. 1911.

} 1,261,741.. Patented Apr. 2,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 8 & w awv CHARLES C. BLAKE, 0F BBOOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 C. C. BLAKE, INCORPORATED, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LASTED WELT-SHOE AND METHOD OF LASTIN G IT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. a, 1918.

continuation of application semi No. 21,423, filed April 14, 1915. This application filed September a, 1917.

Serial No.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. BLAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented cerings indicating like parts in the several figures.

The present invention relates to the art of making boots and shoes and is particularly applicable to the art of making welt shoes.

In accordance with the usual practice in making this type of shoe the last after being inserted within the upper, during the assembling operation, remains within the shoe throughout the subsequent operations until the shoe is ready for the treeing operation at which time the last is pulled from the shoe and returned to its initial starting point in readiness for another assembled shoe. As considerable capital is invested in the lasts within the shoes in process it is highly desirable that the shoes ass without delay from one operating station to the next succeeding station. If the successive operations are speedily performed upon the shoes without any delay between the stations it is obvious that a lesser number of lasts is needed to maintain the shoe factory operating at its full capacitv than is required if the shoes are delayed at one of the stations before the succeeding operation is erformed thereon. Notwithstanding their e orts to reduce their capital investment, it is the practice of the shoe manufacturers at the present time to allow the lasted shoes to accumulate after the lasting operation until the uppers thereon are set in their lasted position. This delay in the passage of the shoes through the factory is necessary because of the method now generally employed in lasting welt shoes. In accordance with the usual practice the upper is first lasted over upon the exposed face of the insole and is temporarily secured in overlaid position along the margin of the insole by a plurality of lastmg tacks inserted at irregular intervals. The toe portion of the upper is bound in and held by a toe wire passed about the toe of the shoe and retained at its opposite ends by anchor tacks driven deeply into the last approximately in the line of the inseam. These metallic fastener inserted during the lastmg of the shoe seriously interfere with the welt sewing operation and to avoid this difficulty a few stay tacks, metallic staples or thread fasteners are inserted at suitable points to hold the upper securely in its lasted pos tion and allow the removal of all of the astlng tacks. This substitution of'a different kind of fastener for the lasting tacks makes it absolutely necessary that the upper is set on the last before the lasting tacks are withdrawn since otherwise the few stay tacks, upper staples, or thread fasteners would not be suflicient to prevent the upper from slipping on the last when released by the lasting tacks.

It has been proposed heretofore to secure the lasted upper to the exposed face of the lnsole on the bottom of the last by cement instead of tacks. It is obvious that the use of cement would permit the sewing machine to operate practically directly upon the lasted shoes and it would also increase the life of the lasts which are soon damaged by the lasting tacks. Experience has demonstrated that the use of cement as the fastening instrumentality for securing the lasted upper in a Goodyear shoe is impracticable. All lasting machines for use in the manufacture of Goodyear welt shoes whether pulling-over machines, bed lasting machines, hand method lasting machines or lasting and sewing machines have always drawn the updrawn upper over upon the exposed face of the insole on the bottom of the last in position to be secured. As the circumference of the bottom of the last measured within the edge is considerably less than the circumference measured at the edge of the last it is obvious that to lay the overdrawn upper upon the exposed face of the insole necessitates the formation of a large number of folds in the upper. These folds and the absence of any known method of holding the upper in the angle between the marginal abutment and the Fig. 1;

feather of the insole while the cement is drying preclude the use of cement in the lasting of welt shoes of the present commercial type.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of lasting welt shoes which permit the use of cement for securing the lasted upper, thus eliminatin the disadvantages in the use of lasting tac s and producing a finished product of better quality, and by means of which a considerable saving in the cost of the shoe is effected. In accordance with this object, the present invention contemplates a method of lasting welt shoes in which the overdraw movement of the upper, heretofore consldered an essential step in lasting is omitted. Omission of the overdraw movement obviates the formation of folds on the bottom of the insole and locates the updrawn upper adjacent the edge face of the insole to which it may be readily clamped in a position convenient for the applicatlon of cement for securing the upper in lasted position to the edge face of the insole.

The present invention will be clearly understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevationpf a Blake welt shoe showing the preferred manner in which the forepart of the shoe is bound to the edge'face of the insole;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the shoe shown in Fig. .3 is a front elevation of the shoe shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail in sectional elevation showing the manner in which the upper is stretched at'the shank;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation on the line.

55, Fig. 6;

Fig. 6 is a plan showing the upper bound and clamped to the edge face of the insole; Fig. 7 is a plan ofthe lasted shoe; and Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of the lasted shoe.

As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the forepart of the assembled shoe 1 having the lining pasted to it is first updrawn to stretch the upper to the wood of the last by any of.

the known means which are suitable or desirable and is then held in its updrawn position against the edge faceof the insole 2 by a binder 3 which is clamped to the shoe to hold the stretched and bound upper firmly pressed against the edge face of the insole. The edge face of the insole is that face which is vertical when the insole is supported in a flat position on a horizontal surace.

The binder may be conveniently secured to the shoe by a clamp (Fig. 3) which is first positioned loosely about the binder and is then closed thereon. The clamp comprises a horizontal bar 4 which loosely suping the shank of the shoe.

ports a pair of depending posts 5 and .6

which are prevented from sliding off the ends of the bar 4 by ins 7. As shown by the dotted lines in F1g. 3 (illustratlng the contacting surfaces of the bar and posts) while the posts are free to slide upon the bar 4 when they occupy a position normal to the bar they may be cramped upon the bar by tilting them out of a normal position. The posts are arranged upon 0 posite sides of the shoe and are each provi ed with a horn 12 arranged to engage the topof the hump 11. When the clamp has been engaged with the bind and insole in the manner described t post 5 is slid along the bar 4 to tighten the clamp on the binder. During the initial movement of the post 5 on the bar 4 the binder is firmly pressed against the post 6 until it'becomes cramped on the bar 4 in the manner shown in Fig. 3. Then the continued sliding movement ofthe post 5 presses the jaw 10 thereon firmly agalnst the binder after which the upper part of the post moves independently of the lower art thus cramping the post 5 on the bar 4. he clamp may be closed by pressure or by blows struck upon the post 5. A convenient way of closing the clamp is to insert jaws 13 and 14, between the post 5 and a shoulder 15 on the bar 4. The jaws 13 and 14 are connected by a toggle 16- which may be made and bro e through a handle 17. The closed jaws are inserted between the shoulder 15 and post 5 and then the operator manipulates the handle 17 to open the jaws .and forcibly slide the post 5 along the bar 4 to clamp the binder in its tensioned position and cramp the posts on the bar.

The heel seat of the shoe may thenbe lasted inthe usual manner or the lasting of the heel seat ofthe shoe may be postponed until the shank of the shoe is lasted. The shoe, with the upper at its .forepart held in updrawn position against the edge'face of the;insole by the clamped binder the free sides of which extend along the loose upper at the shank of the shoe, is presented to the machine illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 which forms a convenient apparatus for stretch- The shoe is placed upon a heel pin 18 (Fig. 6) which enters the socket usually formed in the cone n to open and close the jaws of the last. The pin 18 is formed upon the position, between the clamped upper and the edge face of the insole. It is not necessary in securing the upper to the edge face of the insole that the cement be spread over the entire width of the edge face of the insole. A small fillet of cement on the margin of the edge face of the insole is sufiicient. The operator then spreads cement along the edge face of the insole on both sides thereof from the juncture of the shank and heel seat to the point of meeting with the clamped upper at the forepart. To aid the operator in applying the cement the bracket 19 carries an arm 21 to which is pivoted an electric heater 22 containing a cement or glue pot 23.

In order to stretch the shank of the shoe the machine employs the free portions of the binder 3, which extend conveniently along the shank of the shoe, as wipers for stretching the upper and wiping the stretched upper against the edge face of the insole. To this end the free portions of the binder are embraced by the jaws 24 (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) of a shank clamp. Each jaw is secured to the lower end of a post 25 which is arranged.

to slide upon a bar 26 between stop pins 27. The posts 25 slide upon the bar 26 when arranged substantially normal to the bar and are cramped upon the bar when they are tipped upon the bar. Each aw 24 is formed of a curved piece of metal 28 (Fig. 6) which is shaped to fit the curvature at the shank of the shoe. The posts 25 also carry pins 29 arranged to engage the top of the binder.

To close the jaws 24 upon the binder and thus wipe the binder upwardly and inwardly to stretch the upper and place the the stretched upper against the sticky edge face of the insole the posts 25 are embraced by a pair of arms 30 (Figs. 4:, 5 and 6). Each of the arms 30 is pivoted at the rear of the shank lasting machine upon a vertical pin 81 which is carried by a sleeve 82 (Fig. 5) rotatably mounted on a horizontal pin 33 carried by the bracket 19. The arm 30 is normally held in an inoperative position by a coiled spring 3 L (Fig. 6) one end of which is connected to the bracket 19 and the other end of which is connected to a pin 35 projecting from an arm on the sleeve 32. The arms 30 are first drawn down from their normal inoperative position and positioned against the posts 25 by the operator.

The arms 30 are then operated to close the jaws 24 upon the binder by a pair of bell crank levers 37 which are arranged upon opposite sides of the machine in position to engage the arms 29. The hubs of the bell crank levers 37 are pivoted upon horizontal rods 38 carried by a plate 39 secured to the bracket 19. The lower arms of the bell crank levers 37 are crossed (Fig. 5) and are each connected to the upper end of a vertical rod 4.0. The rods 40 are drawn downwardly to close the bell crank levels 37 u on the arms 30 from a treadle manipulated by the operator.

With this construction pressure upon the treadle operates the bell crank levers 37 to move the arms 30 inwardly. Inward movement of the arms 30 closes the jaws 25 of the clamp upon the binder which moves upwardly to stretch the upper and inwa'rdly to place the stretched upper against the sticky edge face of the insole. When inward movement of the binder is limited by the insole the posts 25 tip upon the bar 26 and thus become cramped upon the bar. The treadle is now released and the arms 30 disengaged from beneath the bar 26. As the arms 30 return to inoperative position under the influence of the spring 34 a corner 41 (Fig. 6) formed on the back of each of the arms 30 strikes a plate 42 on the bracket 19 and turns'the arm 30 about the pin 31 until an edge 43 on the arm rests against the plate 42. I This construction insures the return of the arms 30 to a uniform inoperative position.

The shoe with the binder and the clamps may now be removed from the machine. Heretofore in making a Welt shoe of the Goodyear type it has been necessary to delay the passage of the lasted shoe to the Welt sewing machine until the upper has set on the last. This delay is necessary owing to the use of lasting tacks which must be re moved from the shoe before the welt can be sewn thereon. The tacks can only be removed, however, after the lasted upper is set on the last otherwise the lasted upper would shift or contract on the last as soon as it was released by the tacks. By securing the lasted upper with cement the lasted shoe may be presented to the sewing machine without waiting for the upper to become set on the last. Obviously fewer lasts are required to operate a factory at its full capacity when it is not necessary to accumulate the shoes in process before performing an operation thereon than when the shoes in process have to wait some time before they are in condition for the succeeding operation. A reduction of the number of lasts needed for a certain output reduces the capital investment of the shoe manufacturer thereby permitting him to effect a consider able saving in the cost of his shoes.

After the updrawn upper is securely fastened to the edge face of the insole the clamps and the binder are withdrawn leaving the lasted shoe in the condition illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. By the term lasted shoe I mean a shoe which has been subjected to all the steps in the lasting operation. The lasted shoe is then placed in the machine disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 785,142, filed August 16, 1913, wherein the welt is attached to the lasted shoe. It must be understood definitely that neither in the lasting operation nor in any subsequent operation in the manufac-\ ture of the shoe disclosed herein is the upper turned over upon the exposed face of the msole. On the contrary, the upstanding skirt is trimmed down flush with the exposed face of the insole either prior or subsequent to 7 the welt sewin operation, as shown, re-' spectively, in t e application Serial No. 7 85,142, hereinbefore referred to, and in ap-. plication Serial No. 26,742, filed by me May 8,1915.

' While the primary object of the present invention is directed to an improved method which permits the use of cement for securing the lasted upper to the edge face of the insole of a welt' shoe it is not to be understood as limiting the scope of the claims,

where the context otherwise permits, to the exclusive use of cement .as the fastening instrumentality. This fastening instrumentality must, however, secure the upper in its final lasted position and consequently a securin means which performs its securing function by engagement with both the upper and the insole is contemplated. A mere temporary holder or clamp for holding the upper in its u drawn position is not wlthin the scope of t is invention.

- It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain importantadvantages are obtained by the omission of the overdraw movement independently of the kind of fastening employed to secure the'upper in its updrawn position. For instance, it is well known that the folds produced in the ,overdraw movement cause a great deal of trouble as they often extend beyond the edge of the last and make themselves visible along the sides of the shoe thus rendering their the hold of the grippers. Inthe Blake shoe,

vwhich is lasted in accordance with the method of the present invention, the skirt need only extend above the exposed face of the insole sufiicient for the updraw grippers to obtain their hold. Obviously the omission of the overdraw movement results in a substantial reductionin the cost of the shoeslasted in accordance with the method disclosed herein.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the apparatus described for lasting the shank of the shoe is not necessary to the successful practice of the invention as it will be apparent'that the loose upper at the shank of the shoe may be drawn into amet engagement with the edge face of the insole an clamped thereto without the aid of the binder.

The operations which are performed as above described and illustrated are 'those which are preferred in ractising the present invention. It is to e understood, how ever, that except as defined in the claims the invention is not limited to the precise method illustrated and described.

What is claimed as new, is

. 1. That improvement in the art of lastin welt shoes which consists in updrawing an upper, and securing the u drawn upper to the edge face. of the inso e by means that performs its securing function by engagement both with the upper and the insole.

2. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing an upper and securing the updrawn upper to the edge face of the insole by means that performs its securing'function by engagement with the insole and also with the portion of the upper opposite the edge face of the insole.

3. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing an upper, and permanently securing the updrawn upper to the edge face of the insole.

4. That improvement in the art of lasting upper and cementing the updrawn'upper to the edge face of-the insole.

5. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing an to the exposed face of the insole, and securmg the upper in that position by means that performs its securing function by engagement both wlth the u er and the Insole.

6. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in stretching an upper, and securing the stretched upper to the edge face of the insole by means that performs its securing function by engagement both with the upper and the insole.

7 That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in stretching an upper on the top of a last, and securing the stretched upper to the edge face of an insole on the bottom of the last by, means that performs its securing function by engagement both with the upper and the insole.

8. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in stretching a .portion of the upper on the top of a last, and securing the stretched portionof the upper tothe edge face of an insole on the bottom of the last by means that performs its securing function by engagement both with the upper and the insole.

9. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in stretching an upper at a plurality of-points on the top of the last, and securing the stretched upper on the edge face of the insole on the bottom of the last by means that performs its securing function by engagement both with the upper and the insole.

10. T hat improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in stretching an upper, straining a binder about the shoe to press the stretched upper against the edge face of the insole, and clamping the binder in its strained position.

11. That improvement in the art of lasting welt. shoes which consists in stretching an upper, temporarily holding the stretched upper to the edge face of an insole, and then permanently securing the stretched upper to the edge face of the insole.

12. That improvement in the step of securing an upper to an insole which consists in cementing the upper to the edge face of the insole.

13. That improvement in the step of securing a stretched upper to an insole during the lasting operation which consists in securing the upper to the edge face of the insole by means that performs its securing function by engagement both with the upper and insole.

14. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing the upper around the forepart of an assembled shoe, straining a binder about the updrawn upper to press the upper against the edge face of the insole, clamping the binder in its strained position, and wiping the free sides of the binder inwardly to stretch the upper at the shank and press the stretched upper against the edge face of the insole.

15. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing the upper around the forepart of an assembled shoe, straining a binder about the updrawn upper to press the upper against the edge face of an insole, clamping the binder in its strained position, wiping the free sides of the binder inwardly to stretch the upper at the shank and press the stretched upper against the edge face of the insole, and

clamping the sides of the binder adjacent the shank to clamp the binder to the shoe.

16. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawingthe upper around the forepart of an assembled shoe, straining a binder about the updrawn upper to press the upper against the edge face of the insole, clamping the binder in its strained position, wiping the free sides of the binder inwardly to stretch the upper at the shank and press the stretched upper against the edge face of the insole, clamping the sides of the binder adjacent the shank to clamp the binder to the shoe, and introducing cement along the shank and around the forepart to cement the upper to the edge face of the insole.

17. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing the upper around the forepart of an assembled shoe, straining a binder about the updrawn upper to press the upper against the edge face of the insole, clamping the binder in its strained position, wiping the free sides of the binder inwardly to stretch the upper atthe shank and press the stretched upper against the stretched face of the insole, clamping the sides of the binder adjacent the shank to clamp the binder to the shoe, in-' troducing cement along the shank and around the forepart to cement the upper to the edge face of the insole, and removing the clamps and binder when the cement is dry.

18. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing the upper around the forepart of an assembled shoe, straining a binder about the updrawn upper to press the upper against the edge face of an insole, clamping the binder in its strained position, and wiplng the loose upper of the shank of the shoe inwardly to place it against the edge face of the insole.

19. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing the upper around the forepart of an assembled shoe, straining a binder about. the updrawn upper to press the upper against the edge face of the insole, clamping the binder in its strained position, and clamping the upper at the shank against the edge face of the insole.

20. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing an upper, binding the upper in updrawn pos1- tion to the edge face of an insole, and then securing the updrawn upper to the edge face of the insole by means that performs its securing function by engagement both with the upper and the insole.

21. That improvement in the art of lasting welt shoes which consists in updrawing an upper, binding the upper in updrawn position to the edge face of an insole, clamping the upper in updrawn position, and cementin the clamped upper to the edge face of the insole.

22. A lasted welt shoe, having, in combination, an insole, and an upper arranged with its edge adjacent the edge face of the insole projecting substantially at right angles to the exposed face thereof, and means for Securing the upper to the insole engaged with the insole and also with the portion of the upper opposite the edge face of the insole.

23. A lasted welt shoe, having, in combination, an insole, and an upper secured to the edge face thereof by means that performs- 25.'A stepproduct ofthe lastin opera,- tion of a welt shoe, having, in com ination, an insole, and. an upper permanently secured to the edge face thereof.. 7

26. A lasted welt shee, havin in combination, an insole, an upper, an a binder of continuous material arranged to bind the semei upper a ainst the edge face of the insole secured y additional means to the shoe at the forepart and shank thereof.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES C. BLAKE. 

